Clever Jane and the Birchwood Tree
by Artemis Day
Summary: Once upon a time, a clever young maiden was tasked with freeing a prince from evil wizard. Will she succeed? A Lokane fairy tale.


**A/N: The other day, I got a book of Grimm's Fairy Tales at Barnes and Noble, so I've been reading pretty much nothing but fairy tales ever since.**

**This gave me the brilliant and totally original idea to do a fairy tale fusion fanfic. Unlike others, though, I didn't base it off any one story. I just made one up.**

**So here's a Lokane oneshot in the style of a Grimm's Fairy Tale. I hope you enjoy!**

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Once Upon a Time, there lived a prosperous man and his wife. They lived happily together in the countryside with all they could ever ask for. One day, their lives were further blessed with the birth of a baby girl. They named her Jane, and watched her grow into a lovely and clever little girl.

Sadly, the proud parents lost their lives in an accident while the girl was still young, and a friend of the family stepped in to care for her. Though she was very sad, little Jane pulled through. She thrived under the care of her godfather, a man of science who shared his knowledge with the child. Under his tutelage, Jane learned much about science and magic, though neither of them had reason to believe it could be real.

Jane grew to adulthood, and her beauty was known across the land. Suitors came by the dozen to call on her, but Jane would have none of them. She felt that she was destined for more than wifely duties. She wanted to see the world. Her godfather agreed with her, and on the eve of her eighteenth year, she decided it was time for her to go. She took up a bag and kissed her godfather goodbye.

"Dear child, take some food with you, so you will have it tonight," said he, and he gave her some bread and wine, along with some fine cheese.

He also gave her his telescope, which had served him well over the years, but now should be hers, to watch the stars at night.

And so, the Clever Jane went off. She traveled far and wide and saw many fascinating places. Sometimes, another man would come to ask for her hand, but Jane always said no.

One day, she came upon a bird atop a tree, weeping tears that flooded the ground below.

"Little bird," Jane called. "Why do you weep so?"

"My eggs have been taken!" cried the bird. "I know not what to do. My eggs will be a feast for a cold-hearted hunter!"

"Ah!" said Clever Jane. "Fear not, dear little bird! I will save your eggs myself!"

Jane ran off after the hunter, finding him in a glen with the eggs untouched in a basket. As he was kindling a fire, Jane looked in her bag for what she had with her. The bread and cheese her godfather bequeathed to her was long gone, and she had but a drop of wine left in the bottle, but the sight of it put Jane at ease. She knew just what to do.

Running to a stream, Jane filled the bottle to the top with fresh water and re-sealed it with glue. Then she wandered back into the hunter's camp as he cooked his bacon.

"Good morrow, noble hunter! Those are some fine eggs you have." Clever Jane pulled the wine bottle from behind her back to present to him. "May I offer you a trade for them?"

The hunter was unsure, as his stomach growled for a meal of bacon and eggs, but alas, he could not deny such a face, or such a fine label. He happily made the trade and Clever Jane went on her way.

She brought the eggs back to the bird, who was overjoyed to see them.

"Fair Maiden, I am beholden!" said the bird. "You are forevermore a friend of mine and my brethren. If you should ever need us, go to your window and say-

_'Little birds, little birds, hear my call,_

_Help me, help me, one and all.'_

"We shall always answer you," finished the bird.

The bird thanked Jane many more times, until a horrible cry came over the forest, and Jane knew the hunter had discovered her deception. She picked up her skirts and ran as fast as she could. She ran and she ran and she ran so far, that she found herself in a beautiful kingdom. It was at the very center of the land and the envy of the surrounding Kings, and not only for its heir. The crown prince was a strong and handsome man with flaxen hair like gold and eyes blue as the ocean. All the eligible maidens coveted him.

Jane ran through the streets, weaving around blacksmiths and tanners and bakers and weavers all working at their craft. She found herself outside the palace kitchen, where she could run no longer and had to stop.

"Who are you?" shouted the head maid.

Clever Jane thought fast and said, "I am a maid! Newly hired to serve the king. Do you not know me?"

"I have not overseen the taking on of new hands," said the head maid, "but we can always use more. Get to work or leave!"

And so, Clever Jane found herself in the employ of the King and Queen. When the hunter caught up with her, he could not reach her, for he was well known for his brutishness and servants were not to be touched by him. For a time, Jane worked diligently to earn her keep, and though she was but a servant, her beauty was not to be denied. The man of the town flocked to see her. All the other maids became jealous of her and the affection bestowed upon her. They conspired to be ride of her.

One night, they stole away from their chambers and snuck valuable silver from the trophy room. Depositing it in Jane's bag, they needed only wait for the next day, when the prince found that he'd been robbed of his treasures. He was filled with an indescribable rage, and sent his finest men to apprehend the thief. At length, Jane was discovered with the stolen goods and brought before the King and Queen, where she pled her innocence.

"My King, to steal from you is unthinkable," said she. "Please believe that I would never."

"You have been found with silver stolen from our halls," said the King, an imposing man in golden armor, with one eye long since lost to battle. "And here you stand and refuse to confess."

"I have committed no crime, my lord. I have nothing to confess."

Jane begged for her life for so long and with such fervor, that the gentle Queen became sympathetic, and she spoke kindly on the damned woman's behalf.

"My King, perhaps we should test her loyalty to the crown," she said. "It will give her a chance to prove herself and avoid execution."

For a time, the King considered this, and then he decided.

"Alright, little maiden. If you wish to keep your life, will you accept whatever task I give?"

"I will! I must!" cried Jane.

"I have, in truth, two sons," said the King. "Years ago, I brought home a foundling, orphaned by war. I raised him alongside my own son, but when he learned the truth of his origins, he was outraged, and he ran. Ever since, we have searched for him in vain. Our scouts and our soldiers alike believe him to be held captive by a wizened old mage, who has trapped him inside a birchwood tree. Find the old man and free my son in a week's time, and not only shall I grant you pardon, but you will receive a king's fortune in gold and be married to my eldest, to rule by his side as Queen. Should you fail, you will spend the rest of your days in the dungeons."

"I will complete this task as you have charged me," said Jane.

The King called forth a smith to forge Jane a sword for her quest. She was given knives and skinners for hunting, and a day's worth of meat, cheese and wine. A fellow servant handed her a map of the country, so she could find the birchwood tree without delay.

Jane started off on her quest, though initially, she started in the opposite direction. Surely, there was no way a simple young maiden like her- who had never before believed in magic- could go against a wizard and save a prince. She planned to walk as far as she could until she reached the farthest possible kingdom, and settle down quietly in a fisherman's village for all her remaining days.

Then, she remembered the sad eyes of the Queen as the King told his story of the foundling prince, and the mercy she had shown for her, and so, Jane followed the path to find the prince.

For three days and nights, Jane traveled. She ate what she had and hunted what she needed. On the morning of the fourth day, a tremendous tree appeared inside of a clearing, one the size of twenty normal trees. Something so big that shined so bright could have only been enchanted. A tiny old man sat under the tree, his body a mere skeleton with skin stretched over. He pointed a gnarled finger at Jane.

"Look here!" he called. "A maiden now comes for the wretched prince!"

"I have been sent by the King himself to set his son free," said Jane.

The old man's eyes became hard. "Ha! He cares so little, that now he can only send a single woman. You truly believe you can pass my tests and free the prince?"

"Give me your tests, and we shall see," said Jane, who was unafraid of the old man and his games.

The old man took Jane by the hand and led her to a shallow creek made up of gentle waters. On the other side was a handsome bush covered in fresh berries. Here now, the old man handed Jane a basket.

"Go across this creek and fetch me some berries, so that I may appease my great hunger," said the old man. "However, as you cross, you must not ever let your shoes touch the water."

Jane looked across the creek and then at her feet. How could she cross if she could not walk?

But Clever Jane smiled and knew just what to do. She set the basket down and removed her shoes. Leaving them on the grass, she walked barefoot across the creek and then back again with a full basket. Her shoes never once touched the water.

"Hmmm… we shall have another test then," said the old man.

He brought her now to his home- a rickety cottage built into the side of the birchwood tree. Inside was a homey parlor and kitchen, both clean as could be. But then the old man opened a door, and Jane saw an empty room caked in dust, so much that just standing before it took the breath from Jane's body and filled her insides with grime.

"I wish to decorate this room," said the old man. "I have many furnishings that it would please me to put in here, but it is far too dirty. Clean it for me. You may use whatever you like except a broom or your own hands. Do not get a speck of dust on them. Finish by tomorrow morning, or I shall send you away and see you no more."

With that, the old man hobbled out of the room and disappeared from sight. Jane stood alone in the dirty room, knowing not what to do without a broom to clean or the ability to swipe the dust away with her hands. At the other end of the room was an open window. Jane ran to it and stuck out her head and said:

_'Little birds, little birds, hear my call,_

_Help me, help me, one and all.' _

At the sound of her call, a hundred thousand birds rose from the trees and flew into the room, where they blew away the dust with their wings and carried it outside.

When the old man came back, instead of the soot covered maiden he expected, he found a sparkling clean room with Clever Jane in the middle.

"Have you another test to give me?" asked Clever Jane.

The old man frowned and shook his head.

"I suppose it's time for the final one," he said.

Now Clever Jane was brought before the tree itself, and with a wave of his hand, the old man changed the front of the tree. What formed before her eyes was a transparent surface, behind which was a man in eternal slumber: the foundling prince of the kingdom.

"If you wish to have the prince back," said the wicked old man, "you may reach out and take him. Know this first: that wall is made of the strongest magic there is, stronger than any of this world. It can be broken not by swords or knives or bows or arrows, and to place skin upon it is to succumb to certain death. So now, maiden, how will you free the prince?"

He sat back, confident that he had finally stumped the clever maiden. And Jane stood back as well, looking over the entire tree for signs of a weakness. If it was true that neither a sword nor an arrow could pierce it, and that to touch it would be the death of her, there could be no conceivable way to breach this great barrier, could there?

For a long time, Jane knew not what to do. She knew the old man was waiting for her, judging her, happy to have her fail and be sent away, but Jane would not give up just yet.

She thought and she thought until she could think no longer, and when the sun had nearly set, she knew, and she knew quite suddenly. The answer was as clear as day, as if she had known it all along.

She looked now to the old man, a smile that discomforted him on her face.

"Have you given up?" was his hopeful quandary.

"I haven't, dear old wretch," said Clever Jane. "I just wish to ask, as I am not knowledgeable in the ways of magic. Did you create the spell that's taken hold of the prince?"

"All the magic you see here is of my own creation," said the old man.

"Then as you once cast the spells around this tree, surely you can break them whenever you want, is that not true?"

"It is," said the old man. "I would not be as great a mage as I am if it were not."

And now, Clever Jane felt brighter than the sun at midday.

"Then I know very well the solution to this puzzle!" she said. "A magic spell that no weapon can pierce, no hands can touch and no magic can break… the simple answer is that there is no answer. There is nothing that can break the spell."

The old man was greatly surprised by the maiden's logic, but still he grinned in the face of the her stoicism.

"So then, you admit that you cannot save him?" he asked.

"That is not what I said," answered Clever Jane. "You see, if nothing and no one can free the prince as you say, then that should also include you, old man. You cannot break the spell that you yourself cast, but you've just told me that that is impossible. The only answer I can see then is that the prince is not in that tree at all, nor does he need to be rescued. Am I right?"

The old man was amazed with what he heard, and lo, he laughed heartily as his form changed before her eyes. His tiny body grew to incredible heights, his back straight and his shoulders broad. His face became young and handsome, with hair black as night and greener eyes than Jane had ever seen. Where the old man once stood, now was the strong and beautiful foundling prince.

"Fair Maiden, you have beaten me," said the prince. "I know now I should not have misjudged you, and I am greatly impressed by your wisdom. Tell me, did my father really send you?"

"He did," said Clever Jane, and she sat down at his side to tell him her story. The prince listened well, though he felt no joy at the thought of the maiden being betrothed to his brother, for he had developed a great fondness for her, and wanted her for himself.

"Ah, I see now that I must return home," said the prince with great distress. "I wish not to. There are far too many ill memories for me to be happy there again."

"Your mother misses you terribly," said Clever Jane with a smile, "but if I may, my prince, there is another path you can take."

"And what is that?" asked the prince.

"You can come with me, as my companion. We will travel together around the world until we are sated, and then we will find a place to settle with all our fortunes."

The prince found this far preferable, especially since it meant Clever Jane did not wish to be wife to his brother after all.

Their return to the kingdom was celebrated with great pomp. The people rejoiced their lost prince's return and his mother showered him with kisses and tears with all the kingdom to bear witness. At the feet of the King, Clever Jane accepted the fortune she'd been promised, but politely refused the hand of the golden prince. Though the King was perturbed, he did not argue, and left her to his second son.

Over the next few days, the foundling prince was re-introduced to the people, though by the morning of the sixth, he and Jane decided it was time to depart, and they did so with the blessing of the King and Queen.

From then on, they went where they pleased and did as they liked. They sent many a letter to their loved ones, telling them of their progress, their marriage and their children. After many years, they came to settle in an empty land, where they built a kingdom of their own, and ruled happily as King and Queen for the rest of their days.

THE END


End file.
